We are frequently mentioned in international media, and invited to share our thoughts at well-regarded events across the globe. Our companies get extensive coverage.
HR’s strategic role change in digital age; report by the Applied Innovation Institute and Quest Ventures recognised achievements by Income“Transformation doesn’t take place overnight; it is a journey that requires patience and push – especially if you’re looking to transform an entire organisation. This is what HRD learned when we spoke to Juliana Ang, chief human resources officer at NTUC Income.
The homegrown insurance company was recently ranked first in the inaugural Applied Innovation Institute Singapore Insurance Innovation and Digital Benchmark, which ranks the innovation and digitisation efforts of 25 insurers in Singapore. For Income, the journey to achieving such high acclaim began in 2014 when they foresaw the need to reimagine the typically traditional sector of insurance early.
“We realised the need for dedicated focus, hence the beginning of the formation of an ecosystem that comprises the C-suite, employees and like-minded external partners to seed, mobilise and effect change,” Ang said.” More
Quest Ventures weighs in on the Trump-Kim S$20 million questionJeffrey Seah, venture partner at Quest Ventures, weighs in on the Trump-Kim S$20 million question: What’s it worth to the Singapore brand campaign?
“Singapore was the place because of its learned ability to execute a complex Mice event in a short time, and a population that is used to the personal, professional and security disruptions from Mic events, road closures and congestion from F1s and international marathons to Cristiano Ronaldo and South Korea boyband visits.
The summit will reinforce Singapore as the Alpha choice for Mice events, further cementing and embellishing Singapore’s lofty Mic destination position.
The 9-5 capabilities have been augmented by the 5-9 activities of the two integrated resorts in the past 10 years, and now complemented by burnished credentials of executing big, security-conscious, multi-party Mice events in a short turn-around time.” More
Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia appoints James Tan as chairmanThe Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia (BANSEA) has appointed James Tan as its chairman to take charge of the region’s oldest angel investment network.
Tan serves as managing partner of venture capital firm Quest Ventures and co-founded NASDAQ-listed e-commerce startup 55tuan. He succeeds Dr Mark Hon who will remain on the board of directors as Immediate Past Chairman.
Under the new leadership, BANSEA aims to elevate the region’s angel investment scene to the next level by focusing on two key areas, education and investment.
“We will continue to build strong global partnerships to encourage greater investment collaboration across the funding lifecycle and geographies. I am grateful for the work that the previous board of directors led by Dr Mark Hon has done, and look forward to building on its momentum,” Tan said in a statement. More
Quest Ventures provides perspective on new Grab Ventures“… businesses operating in any one of the verticals Grab has targetted have more than enough reason to worry as startups with the mission to disrupt industries now have a significant backer in Grab, said James Tan, managing partner at Quest Ventures.
Startups that make it into Grab Ventures can leverage on its advanced tech platform, regional footprint as well as a vast network of drivers, delivery partners and merchants across the region. Moving forward, these startups may be tightly integrated into the platform or even outrightly merged under the Grab brand and platform if they prove they could add further value to the business, Tan pointed out.” More
Quest Ventures shares our take on Comcast vs Disney in the fight for FOXJeffrey Seah, venture partner at Quest Ventures said, “Every player in the content creation and distribution business is searching for a global platform with the advent of OTT players of all forms, and the new mega and irregular players like Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Tencent. Fox presents an immediate upgrade in capability and market knowledge for both Disney and Comcast to that global reach.” More
ACE leads delegation to VivaTech, Asia connectivityQuest Ventures managing partner James Tan, in his role as deputy chairman at ACE, has led a group of Singapore corporations and tech startups on a business mission to Paris, France, together with Enterprise Singapore and SGInnovate.
The delegation met with Hello Tomorrow, AXA Innovation, Paris Region Entreprises, Station F, Bpifrance and others for market access and innovation collaborations.
Ambassador Zainal, Singapore’s Ambassador to France, hosted a welcome dinner for the Singapore delegation. Various stakeholders, including Minister for Communications and Information & Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, Mr S Iswaran spoke at the VivaTech conference held on the final day of the business mission. More
Quest Ventures offers predictions for 2018James Tan, managing partner at Quest Ventures also expects large rounds to continue to dominate headlines, and for angel syndicates driven by experienced angel investment networks such as BANSEA to gain prevalence. In addition, he anticipates a “rejuvenation” of seed stage deals which slowed down in 2017.
With venture capital activity poised to boom, competition for both talent and deals is heating up. Tan said that the most notable venture capital activity in 2018 so far would be the entrance of corporations into venture investments, particularly from Series B onwards.
… But Tan said there needs to be a stronger government push for deep-technology investments as private investment firms are not actively investing into this space. Government support could help the deep-technology companies zero in on their real-world applicability. Right now, these firm “are mostly solutions looking for problems to solve at the moment.” said Tan. More
Singapore’s first benchmark to measure the ability of corporations to cope with disruptive innovationProduced by the Applied Innovation Institute (Aii), in partnership with Quest Ventures, this is Singapore’s first benchmark to measure the ability of corporations to cope with disruptive innovation.
Researchers at the Applied Innovation Institute recorded and analysed more than 80 data points across social, online, and innovation metrics to benchmark the progress of insurers towards key industry innovation and digitalisation goals.
The goal of the benchmark is to help insurers in Singapore understand the effectiveness of their innovation initiatives and drive innovation and digitalisation amongst insurers in Singapore. Insurers such as NTUC Income, AXA, Prudential, and Aviva, have all set up innovation initiatives in Singapore. More
Most digitally innovative insurers in Singapore revealed in report by Quest VenturesNTUC Income topped the 2018 Singapore Insurance Innovation and Digital Benchmark, conducted by the Applied Innovation Institute (Aii), and venture fund Quest Ventures.
“In a world where disruption is the only constant, we believe that it is even more important for corporations to understand the incredible challenges that lie in their strategy roadmaps,” said Prof. Paris de l’Etraz, chairman of Aii. “With the average lifespan of an S&P company dropping from 67 years in the 1920s to 15 years today, we cannot emphasise [enough] the importance of developing an innovation model that works not just to boost your bottomline, but places you at the forefront of disruption.” More
Report by Applied Innovation Institute, in partnership with Quest Ventures, ranks the Top 10 insurance brands in Singapore by digital innovationThe annual report titled Applied Innovation Institute Singapore Insurance Innovation and Digital Benchmark ranks the innovation and digitisation efforts of 25 insurers in Singapore. More than 80 data points across social, online, and innovation metrics were recorded and analysed to benchmark the progress of insurers towards key industry innovation and digitalisation goals.
NTUC Income ranked overall first in the benchmark, and also ranked first in online efforts and innovation, while coming in seventh in social efforts.
The goal of the benchmark is to help insurers in Singapore understand the effectiveness of their innovation initiatives and drive innovation and digitalisation amongst insurers in Singapore. More
Pioneering Southeast Asia angel investor network BANSEA gets new chairmanQuest Ventures managing partner James Tan has been voted in as the new chairman of BANSEA, the venerable institution founded by NUS Professor Wong Poh Kam almost two decades ago.
“One of Southeast Asia’s pioneering angel investor network, the Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia (BANSEA), founded in 2001, has appointed James Tan as its new chairman, replacing Dr. Mark Hon. He will remain on the board of directors as the Immediate Past Chairman.
“We are confident that BANSEA members will develop best practices through our angel investment masterclasses and co-investment activities. We will continue to build strong global partnerships to encourage greater investment collaboration across the funding lifecycle and geographies,” said Tan.” More
报告：本地多数保险公司 较少使用社媒与客户接触求索创投与美国应用创新研究所的评估报告指出，25个保险业者中，只有九个拥有推特账户，这当中仅有两个账户是活跃的。报告也指出，所有业者都没有使用Snapchat，并点名这是和千禧世代联系的关键平台。
本地大部分的保险公司甚少使用社交媒体与用户接触，一些公司虽然有户头，但却没将社媒的信息本土化。More
50 of the brightest connectors, creative visionaries, influential innovators and disruptive talents in SingaporeQuest Ventures venture partner Goh Yiping was selected as one of 50 brightest connectors, creative visionaries, influential innovators and disruptive talents in Singapore.
“Her current job title may be venture partner at Quest Ventures, but Goh Yiping will always be remembered as an e-commerce trailblazer. The 36-year-old started All Deals Asia in 2010 with her brother. The site that consolidated the best local promotions from around the web proved so successful that it was acquired by one of Asia’s leading diversified conglomerates, Lippo Group, in 2014. Together with the Lippo Group, Yiping helped launch MatahariMall, an online version of Indonesia’s biggest mid-priced department stores, for which she moved to Jakarta for three years to accomplish. While cooking up new ideas for her next project, she’s taking on a completely different adventure: motherhood.” More
Eatsy does itLike the name suggests, startup Eatsy is about making dining out easy. Its CEO and founder Shaun Heng shares how the app offers a hassle-free experience for diners, even when they are in a group, while capturing valuable patron data for restaurants.
Eatsy’s investors include Quest Ventures, Spring Singapore (now Enterprise Singapore), the co-founders of RedMart (Roger Egan, Vikram Rupani and Rajesh Lingappa), Lo & Behold Group (Wee Teng Wen), and prominent angel investors. More
Pink Dot 2018: 99.co, e27, Wobe, Zopim, Quest Ventures Among Tech Founders & Investors Supporting Sponsorship DriveSingapore’s tech and entrepreneur community took a big step forward today for LGBTQ+ equality, as several founders and investors lent their support to call for other businesses to step forward and raise funds for this year’s Pink Dot pride gathering in Singapore.
Led by 99.co’s Darius Cheung, six other prolific voices in the tech and investor circles have joined forces to lend their support.
Goh Yiping, Venture Partner, Quest Ventures said, “As a startup founder and investor, we have always firmly believed in seeing the best in people. This means looking beyond one’s racial group, socio-economic status, family background, sexual orientation or gender identity, and giving them the opportunity to learn and grow, in an environment they can truly be themselves.” More
求索创投创始人王贇明：区块链的具体落地应用由世界区块链理事会（WBC）主办，金色财经、GMGC、3点钟社群和BIT.GAME联合主办的2018年世界区块链峰会（World Blockchain Conference）于4月3日在中国北京国家会议中心（CNCC）举办。峰会联合国内外知名学术机构、区块链技术公司和专家等共同参与，邀请全球三十多个国家或地区，近1000名区块链行业精英共同出席，特设领袖峰会、CEO闭门会、项目路演、区块链+数字娱乐论坛等多个重点环节。金色财经前方记者在峰会现场为您带来实时报道，更多内容请持续关注区块链专业媒体金色财经。
求索创投创始人王贇明以“区块链的具体落地应用”为主题发表了演讲，以下为演讲实录。More
Sihub đã ký kết các chương trình hợp tác quốc tế với Quest VenturesTheo đó, Sihub đã ký kết bản ghi nhớ với các đối tác đến từ các quốc gia, vùng lãnh thổ, gồm: Hàn Quốc, Malaysia, Singapore, Thụy Điển, Canada, Đức, Thụy Sỹ, Hàn Quốc, Hongkong (Trung Quốc). Cụ thể, Sihub đã ký kết với Shihan Future’ Lab Magic, Quest Venture, Swedish Univerity Outreach và German Accelerator trong chương trình Run Way to the world (Chương trình trao đổi startup quốc tế); ký kết với Swedish Univerity Outreach – chương trình Bonndless! (Chương trình trao đổi giữa doanh nghiệp nhỏ và vừa); ký kết với Ivey Business School (chương trình nâng cao năng lực quản trị cho doanh nghiệp); ký kết với Unicef (Chương trình giáo dục kỹ năng thế kỷ 21 cho thanh thiếu niên); hợp tác với Swedish Univerity Outreach (triển khai hội nghị công nghệ ngành sức khỏe, y tế châu Á); ký với tập đoàn Bosch (Chương trình Liên minh chiến lược phát triển hệ sinh thái ngành mạng lưới vạn vật kết nối – IOT), ký kết với Kaizen Accelerator (Chương trình liên minh chiến lược phát triển hệ sinh thái ngành Blockchain & Công nghệ tài chính số); ký kết với Quest Venture (Chương trình thiết lập và phát triển hệ sinh thái đầu tư khởi nghiệp). More
Options beyond seed funding, Quest Ventures weighs inSingapore needs to push its startups beyond seed funding. “… one in five fintech firms lament the fact that Singapore doesn’t have enough venture capital to go around with 66% claiming that the current level of government assistance is inadequate to power their businesses.”
“The Fintech sector in Singapore is vibrant with the Monetary Authority of Singapore taking an active role in encouraging startups, and driving corporate innovation in financial institutions. Contrary to the survey, we believe that there is an abundance of exuberance with the easy availability of grants, venture capital, and cryptocurrency fund-raising in the form of ICOs,” said James Tan, Managing Partner of VC firm, Quest Ventures. More
why innovation is the new oil at Unbound BahrainSenior Analyst Jasmine Toh was invited to Unbound Bahrain as a speaker on the topic of “Investors, VCs and their Strategies”. As the only female investor representative from Southeast Asia, Jasmine also shared her thoughts on female entrepreneurship and opportunities in new sectors.
“The small Arab nation has been gearing up to welcome startups, investors and HNIs from across GCC (Gulf Council Confederation) and MENA (Middle East and Northern Africa) regions.
With a push from the government to move from oil to innovation, the Middle East today is looking at tech innovation and startups closely. Bahrain’s Economic Development Board and its semi-government organisation Tamkeen are looking to make Bahrain a Middle-Eastern hotbed for startups.” More
Senior Analyst Jasmine Toh answers how much money is needed before starting a businessSenior Analyst Jasmine Toh was interviewed on The Breakfast Huddle on Money FM 89.3.
Hosted by Yasmin Jonkers and Elliott Danker, this morning’s huddle covered mindsets, transformation in traditional industries, the Startup SG Founder funding from SPRING Singapore, the Productivity Solutions Grant which replaces the Productvity & Innovation Credit, and others. More
Connecting restaurants to their diners with EatsyShaun Heng, Founder & CEO of Eatsyapp.co, a Quest Ventures-backed startup, was covered in The Straits Times today.
“Eatsy connects restaurants to their diners and helps them answer the age-old questions of ‘Who my diners are’, ‘What they like to eat’ and ‘How can I get them back with the right promotions’.”
Eatsy is backed by Quest Ventures, a venture fund for technology companies, and SPRING Singapore under the Startup SG Founder grant. More
Analyst Khor Qianyi shares her impressions of the Vietnam startup sceneAnalyst Khor Qianyi was interviewed on Vietnam Television 1 (VTV1) for her impressions of the Vietnam startup scene.
She contrasted the difference between Singapore and Vietnam startups, highlighted the importance of the Vietnamese market, and stressed the critical role of accelerators in strengthening the startup landscape. More (7:17 mark)
Venture partner Jeffrey Seah analyses Singapore Airlines digital transformation effortsWhile “digital transformation” is probably one of the most over-used terms in the past few years, to embrace it, is not easy.
Interviewed in the Marketing magazine, Jeffrey Seah, venture partner at Quest Ventures, said transformation itself means restarting the business with a new mindset and operational structure. If SIA really has transformation in its agenda, it has to “depart from the established topping up mindset” that is prevalent among many government bodies and MNCs.
The “topping up” mindset comes from adopting best practices from other companies (or start-ups) to gain ideas, and add that to the current business model. But it doesn’t necessarily mean hitting the restart button as transformation ideally should. For SIA’s transformation to work, it requires the company to have the mindset that it is changing the business from the core.” More
Quest Ventures part of launch of world’s first digital framework for Islamic economyMalaysia, home of the world’s largest Islamic finance industry, is taking the idea of creating a comprehensive Islamic economy a step further and announced it will launch a debut “Islamic Digital Economy Framework” by March next year as a growth backbone for its entire halal industry.
The driving force behind the Islamic digital initiative is the Malaysian Digital Economy Corp, or MDEC, a government-backed entity which is seeking to create a growth ecosystem for the Islamic economy in Malaysia in accordance with the government’s national strategy to tap the potential of both the Islamic and the digital economy.
Singapore-based Quest Ventures, which invests in Internet-related technology startups, as well as Jakarta-based Ethis Ventures, which invests in and supports Islamic crowd funding platforms, are among the three venture capital firms participating. More
Quest Ventures identified as key catalyst in Malaysia’s Islamic Digital EconomyQuest Ventures is mentioned as one of the three investment firms that the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is working with. Ethis Ventures, one of the other investment firms, is a portfolio company of Quest Ventures, and further strengthens Quest Ventures’ collective presence in this space.
Malaysia’s leadership in Islamic finance and the halal sector put the country in a favourable position to dominate the Islamic Digital marketplace. The Islamic Digital Economy framework is part of Malaysia’s strategy to cement the country’s leadership in the global halal marketplace and create a unique and competitive advantage to accelerate the growth of digital economy. More
Singapore and Malaysia should be comrades in global tech battles, not competitorsSingapore and Malaysia are playing catch up with global tech capitals, but their pace may be slowed by talent that’s looking too timid for the cutthroat business.
“But playing too nice can cripple the industry. James Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, a venture fund focusing on China and Southeast Asia, says that local startups should emulate China’s ruthlessness and “get big fast”.
“There is nothing wrong with wanting to stay as a small entrepreneur, but if so, why play in the fast-growth tech game? Tech startups have to grow by penetrating new cities or countries, including expansion by acquisition. Otherwise, you are just setting yourself up to be acquired by the Chinese or the Americans when they enter your market.
Looking ahead, Tan says, a key tactic will be for Singapore and Malaysia to remain comrades, rather than competitors. More
Venture Partner Goh Yiping honoured in The Peak’s Power List 2017Venture partner Goh Yiping received The Peak’s magazine Power List 2017 award along with other industry honorees. Recognised for her achievements in the last decade, Yiping’s role in building up e-commerce in Indonesia was highlighted.
“By 2012, we facilitated about $10 million worth of transactions that originated from our site and was completed at our partners’ sites,” she says. All Deals Asia was acquired by Lippo Group in 2014. In the next three years, she helped Lippo Group to build from scratch Indonesian e-commerce site Matahari Mall. While it might look like yet another online shopping site, Matahari Mall presented a new concept for its time – Online-to-Offline.
“I emphasise three things: to keep reinventing ourselves to stay relevant, to experiment constantly, and to collaborate widely.” More
Women take Asia’s economic helm in the ASEAN-China Young Entrepreneur ForumDelegates from China, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam gathered at Siem Reap, Cambodia. Under the title “Role of Emerging Youth and Women Entrepreneurs in Economic Development”, they worked together with government representatives to plan a clear pathway for local and international economic integration of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) while discussing the challenges of young female entrepreneurs.
Singapore brought seven young, competitive representatives that reflect the power of women entrepreneurs in the rapid-growing business landscape of Singapore. Quest Ventures’ senior analyst Jasmine Toh was the head of the Singapore delegation. More
福岡市、シンガポール政府のスタートアップ支援機関ACEとスタートアップの相互支援に関する覚書を締結福岡市は28日、シンガポール政府のスタートアップ支援機関である ACE（Action Community for Entrepreneurship）とスタートアップの相互支援に関する覚書を締結したことを明らかにした。これまでに福岡市は、エストニア政府、ヘルシンキ市、台北市、台湾スタートアップハブ、サンフランシスコ D-HAUS（btrax による運営）、フランス・ボルドー都市圏、ニュージーランド・オークランド市と同様の覚書を締結しており、今回の ACE を含めると8例目となる（エストニア政府とは、傘下の3つの機関と覚書を締結）。
福岡市長の高島宗一郎氏、ACE Deputy Chairman で 55tuan.com（55団）の共同創業者でもある James Tan 氏。 More
Fukuoka city and ACE Singapore signs MOU to help startups grow internationallyJames Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, signed an MOU with the Japanese city of Fukuoka in his capacity as the vice-chairman of the Action Community for Entrepreneurship. Mr Soichiro Takashima, Mayor of Fukuoka, signed the MOU on behalf of the city.
“It (MOU) gives entrepreneurs access to information on the local market and access to a support system that provides them with all of the help they need to get their company up and running.” More
Is the Singapore F1 Grand Prix a vanity project? Quest Ventures venture partner Jeffrey Seah weighs inJeffrey Seah, venture partner at Quest Ventures, said the F1 Grand Prix has evolved into “a transactional contract rather than a vanity or awareness project, as compared to the past”.
“The original aim of getting on the world map has been achieved. The timely change of F1 ownership has lubricated the renewal process,” Seah said. More
2017亚洲VR产业合作论坛成功举办，中韩VR架起沟通之桥求索创投高级分析师杜淑燕代表新加坡参加了在韩国首尔举行的2017亚洲VR产业合作论坛暨韩国虚拟现实产业博览会。
中国有最大的VR市场，韩国有顶级VR内容开发能力，但信息不对称之下双方如何对接？日前召开的2017亚洲VR产业合作论坛给出了答案。
9月16日至20日，2017亚洲VR产业合作论坛暨韩国虚拟现实产业博览会在韩国首尔召开。来自中韩日以及港台等国家和地区的200余位嘉宾齐聚岩洞数码媒体城，共话亚洲VR发展大势及商谈各方合作。
本届KVRF分展览和会议两个模块。参展项目达170多个，覆盖了中国、韩国、日本、新加坡、马来西亚、越南、香港、台湾等亚洲国家和地区的主要VR企业和投资机构。黑匣网、汇桔网、HTC Vive、幻影星空、启赋资本、超级队长、Pico、5号空间、创客街、当红齐天、大航海VR等中国机构代表悉数到场。 More
NUS interviews James Tan in celebratory video documenting ecosystem building effortsAs one of the earliest venture capital firms to set up in Blk71, Quest Ventures has seen the tremendous transformation of this area from one old flatted factory block to the LaunchPad that it is today.
In NUS Enterprise’s celebratory video on how it has shaped the ecosystem as a builder, collaborator and global connector, Quest Ventures managing partner James Tan was interviewed for his perspective.
“The transformation has been tremendous. I firmly believe that the ecosystem that NUS has been able to bring together has been the single biggest driver for making the place become what it is today,” says James in the video. More
Senior analyst Jasmine Toh represents Singapore at ASEAN-China Young Entrepreneur Forum in CambodiaQuest Ventures’ senior analyst Jasmine Toh represented Singapore at the ASEAN-China Young Entrepreneur Forum held in Cambodia. Jasmine was the head of the Singapore delegation.
Cambodia’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation H.E. Luy David presided over the ASEAN-China Young Entrepreneur Forum organised in Siem Reap province from Sept. 3 to 5 under the theme “Role of Emerging Youth and Women Entrepreneurs in Economic Development.” More
Venture partner Jeffrey Seah moves into blockchain technology spaceQuest Ventures’ venture partner Jeffrey Seah has joined Gravity4 (G4), a marketing cloud platform specialising in artificial intelligence and big data. Seah will join the company’s advisory board, which is now focused on developing blockchain technologies to eliminate ad fraud.
Seah said that blockchain has the ability to address the “unwieldy and opaque supply chain” in marketing and advertising technology. Through the technology, the company aims to establish transparency and trust by creating a central and secure way to record, review and execute deals.
“With Gravity4 heavily investing in blockchain, we’ll be able to eliminate ad fraud and provide personalised experiences to eliminate the need for ad blockers, a solution the industry desperately needs,” Seah said. More
Hapz bukan sekadar jualan tiketUntuk mengembangkan aplikasinya, Selasa (1/8) lalu Hapz mendapatkan pendanaan senilai US$ 501.200 dari sejumlah investor. Yakni, Cocoon Capital, Quest Ventures, TinkBig Venture, dan SPH Media Fund, serta seorang investor malaikat (angel investor) yang tak diungkap namanya.
Hapz memang butuh banyak suntikan dana untuk mengembangkan platformnya. Soalnya, persaingan di bisnis tiket online di kawasan Asia Tenggara terbilang sengit. More
Singapore top draw for startup professionals? Not so simpleThe Startup Cities Index found Singapore to have outperformed 84 of the 85 ranked cities in five areas – startup ecosystem, salary, social security and benefits, cost of living and quality of life.
James Tan, managing partner of venture capital firm Quest Ventures, didn’t buy all the findings. For starters, he said, the number of vacation days – one of three indicators of social security and benefits – are “irrelevant” to startups.
He said: “To founders, there is often no concept of weekends or public holidays. In comparison to their multinational corporation competitors, startups neither have the luxury of time nor money. So they need to move fast. If they work one Saturday more than the large companies, these startups would have done 20 per cent more work.”
James also added that safety, often overlooked for the sake of opportunity, ought to be a key driver for people. “Our multi-cultural, multilingual and multi-religion environment creates a comfortable base from which everyone from around the world should feel welcome to start the next big thing.” More
Quest Ventures participates in panel to launch research on Singapore startup ecosystem at LaunchPadJTC LaunchPad @ one-north has matured into a dynamic ecosystem for startups, according to latest research findings by TechSG. For starters, the number of tenants (startups and facilitators such as angel investors, venture capitalists and legal firms) grew 65% to 425 from November 2015 to March 2017.
Interestingly, LaunchPad startups have a higher degree of “ecosystem engagement” compared to tech startups in Singapore. 80% of LaunchPad startups are found to have participated in at least one government funding scheme, versus 64.2% of tech startups. Nearly 40% of LaunchPad startups have received venture capital funding, versus 15.8% of tech startups.
As LaunchPad’s largest private tenant and earliest venture fund, Quest Ventures’ managing partner James Tan was invited to be on the panel to discuss the findings, along with Vinod Nair, CEO of MoneySmart; Mohan Belani, CEO of e27; Patricia Polizzi, CEO of Startup Autobahn Singapore; and Professor Wong Poh Kam, Director of NUS Enterprise. More
Hapz raises $500k seed round from investors including Quest VenturesEvent-tech platform Hapz has raised S$680,000 ($499,595) in seed funding from Cocoon Capital, SPH Media Fund, Quest Ventures, TinkBig Venture and an angel investor.
The firm said it will use the proceeds to expand its team and build partnerships with merchants and event organisers across verticals and through the region.
A company representative told this portal that the investment rationale behind this for investors lay in it being a new market, with “no existing player in the S.E.A region who can do cross-border experience booking.” More
Quest Ventures provides seed funding for event platform HapzEvent platform Hapz has raised seed funding of $680,000 from Cocoon Capital, SPH Media Fund, Quest Ventures, TinkBig Venture and an angel investor.
SPH Media Fund chief executive Chua Boon Ping said: “We have been involved with Hapz since their early days as it was one of our accelerator start-ups. We like the value propositions that Hapz brings to both merchants and consumers. For consumers, it means getting better deals, powered by Hapz’s dynamic-pricing algorithm. And for merchants, Hapz provides a channel to promote events.” More
Have GCC Islamic banking and financial services failed to innovate?Have Islamic banking and financial services innovated at the speed they were expected to? Rushdi Siddiqui, mentor at Quest Ventures was invited to comment.
“There are industry insiders who have been making similar arguments for a long time now. Rushdi Siddiqui, who is now Advisor at Wall Street Blockchain Alliance and Mentor at VC firm Quest Ventures, and is an industry veteran, says Islamic finance is deeply linked to oil/commodity prices and hence remains as volatile as price per barrel of oil.
“When oil is $80/barrel, surpluses exist, infrastructure projects are many, banks are lending to SMEs, and non-Muslim countries want part of the petro-liquidity. Conversely, when the price bandwidth is $35-50/barrel, there is a lot of pain for governments, SMEs, banks, and consumerism,” Siddiqui wrote as early as late last year.” More
SPRING Singapore appoints Quest Ventures as an Accredited Mentor Partner (AMP) under Startup SG FounderQuest Ventures is pleased to announce that we are now an Accredited Mentor Partner under the Startup SG Founder program after a comprehensive, multi-agency evaluation process.
“The 17 AMPs range across different industries from manufacturing, fintech, digital commerce and medical technologies.
An evaluation panel with representatives from SPRING, National Research Foundation (NRF), Economic Development Board (EDB), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA), deliberated on the selection. The AMPs were assessed on a set of criteria which included the track record of management team and quality of development programmes.” More
Meet the VC: Quest Ventures on why Chinese founders are tougher than Singaporean entrepreneurs“James Tan, Managing Partner of Quest Ventures, expounds on the strengths and shortcomings of Singapore startups and the state of the Chinese tech ecosystem.”
“Needless to say, the founders (of Quest Ventures) know first-hand how difficult it is to build and scale a startup sustainably. e27 spoke with Tan, who is currently based in China, to gather his thoughts of the state of Singapore’s tech ecosystem, and how it matches up to the US and China.” More
Mapping out growth“Since the time that James Tan started Quest Ventures in 2011, it has funded some of the top startups in Southeast Asia including Carousell, 99.co, ShopBack, Ethis, Xfers, and Oddle.me, among many others. It remains focused on startups that have scalability and replicability in large Internet communities.”
“We continue to scan the horizon for the next big thing to bet on. We are usually the first cheque or investment into a tech startup so this means we are unusually forward-looking and can take a long term view on investments that few can,” says James. “Our DNA is deeply entrepreneurial. All our staff are hands-on and work hard side-by-side with entrepreneurs whom we consider part of our family. The Quest family is very close knit.” More
Impact on tech with changes in US visa rulesThe Straits Times asked Quest Ventures’ managing partner, James Tan, for his opinion on the changes surrounding the issuance of H1B work visas for employment in the United States.
Asked if the changes in visa rules and cost will affect tech workers based in the US or force tech workers to reconsider the US as a work destination, James said, “If one qualifies for the visa, why wouldn’t it be worth it to stay on, especially in tech and in the Bay Area? While the visa is important, its cost nonetheless pales against the opportunities and costs of living in the US.” More
Fostering StartupsIn a cover story for the ASEAN Edition of the China Daily, Quest Ventures’ James Tan was interviewed along with Edith Yeung of 500 Startups, and Duncan Logan of RocketSpace.
James said, “Before, China was a few years behind the West. Now, it is a few days behind… Chinese money moves faster, is more aggressive and makes decisions more quickly.”
Commenting on the financial front, however, Tan noted that the ‘white hot’ startup scene is headed for a correction in valuation. “You’re already seeing it in India, but it hasn’t occurred in China.”
Singapore No. 1 in world for start-up talent: ReportThe Straits Times covered the latest report from Startup Genome and remarked that “perhaps the biggest surprise coming out of a 150-page research report covering 10,000 start-ups and 300 partner companies worldwide is that tiny Singapore has overthrown tech centre Silicon Valley as the world’s No. 1 for start-up talent.”
“The Republic also has the sixth-highest percentage of immigrant founders at 35 per cent.
“Singapore is an open society and welcomes entrepreneurs from around the world to create the next big thing here,” said Mr James Tan, managing partner of Asian technology venture fund Quest Ventures.”
Besides Quest Ventures, Dr Alex Lin of SGInnovate, Mr Lim Der Shing of JobsCentral Group and Mr Tiang Lim Foo of SeedPlus were also quoted. More
新加坡政府拨2亿元入起步新加坡投资计划新加坡政府将拨出2亿元入“起步新加坡投资”计划，用来投资在进行深奥科技的起步公司。政府也拨款2000万元入“起步新加坡创办人”计划，协助首次开办公司者创业。
国家发展部兼贸工部政务部长许宝琨医生今天在纬壹科技城起步谷三座新大楼的入伙庆祝会致词时， 针对在贸工部拨款委员会国会辩论上公布的一系列“起步新加坡”计划做进一步说明。
身为新加坡创业行动社群副主席的求索创投管理合伙人陈中、新加坡标新局总裁、裕廊集团副总裁及其他高级代表联合主持仪式并参观起步谷。 More
S$20m for first-time entrepreneurs under Startup SG initiativeA budget of S$20 million will be set aside under the Startup SG initiative to support first-time entrepreneurs. This was announced by Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon on Wednesday (Mar 22) at an event marking the opening of three new blocks at JTC LaunchPad @ one-north.
As Deputy Chairman of ACE and responsible for driving internationalisation, Quest Ventures’ managing partner James Tan co-hosted the launch and site tour together with Poon Hong Yuen, CEO of SPRING Singapore; Alvin Tan, Assistant CEO of JTC; and other senior representatives. More
Startup Genome quotes Quest Ventures in report on global startup ecosystemsIn a wide-ranging report that covered startup ecosystems around the globe, JF Gautheir, Founder and CEO of Startup Genome, said, “our (startup) culture is special and truly global… people who are busy working on their own ideas and organisations frequently take the time to make (introductions, favours, connections)”.
Beijing and Shanghai appeared in the report for the first time, and immediately leaped into 4th and 8th respectively, pushing Singapore to the 12th position from its previous 10th.
Singapore has the 6th highest Percentage of Immigrant Founders in the world at 35%. It also has the 3rd highest level of Global Connectedness of all top 20 ecosystems outperforming even Silicon Valley.
Invited to provide a human perspective to the data, Quest Ventures’ James Tan was quoted: “Singapore is an open society and welcomes entrepreneurs around the world to create the next big thing here.” More
Cafebond.com on bringing Australia’s best coffee beans to SingaporeAccessing the world of fashion and contemporary culture through an Asian lens, Buro 24/7 interviewed Cafebond.com co-founders Eugene Chen and Keyis Ng.
They described how their experience with great coffee in Melbourne inspired them to go “online to find a way to purchase coffee from Melbourne, only to find out that some cafes do not ship outside of Australia. For those that did, the shipping fees ended up costing more than the bag of beans itself.”
Asked about the “most interesting person” they have met on the job, they answered, “It would be James Tan, the managing partner of Quest Ventures – Cafebond.com’s first investor. James is also one the very first investors to bolster top local start-ups such as Carousell, 99.co, and Burpple. He has been very supportive. Given his wealth of experience, we’ve learnt a lot from him as an investor and mentor.” More
Singapore startup founders talk about their first investors, and the meetings that started it allVulcan Post profiles how Singapore start-ups met their first investors, with companies Carousell, Burpple, and 99.co among the interviewees.
“Needless to say, not all investments pay off due to many reasons, but there are some investors who somehow have the Midas touch when it comes to identifying potential successes.”
The common investor across these companies? James Tan of Quest Ventures. More
Singapore company creates karaoke device named Popsical that fits in one’s handThe Straits Times covers a new piece of hardware backed by Quest Ventures.
“Shaped like a disc, weighing a mere 150g and fitting into the palm of your hand, Popsical does not look like the average karaoke machine. But plug it into any sound system and TV and you can be belting out your favourite songs to background music.
Popsical works with a mobile app that contains an ever-expanding music library of more than 30,000 ditties ranging from the classics to the latest hits in more than eight languages including English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, Hindi and Thai.
About $475,000 in investments has come from companies such as Quest Ventures, the venture capital firm that backed online marketplace app Carousell.” More
Large corporates raise the gameThe Straits Times asks VCs to round up key developments in 2016 and look ahead to 2017’s biggest trends.
It notes that while the sector has grown immensely, in both breadth and depth amid a maturing venture capital landscape and a rising number of companies displaying regional or global aspirations, it still needs to develop in deep-tech areas like robotics.
“Fintech has been significantly hyped up by the ecosystem. More attention will be put on fintech and on attracting foreign teams to set up in Singapore,” says Mr James Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, “There is a push for ‘deeper’ tech but I am not seeing interesting start-ups in areas such as robotics. We need to focus on the areas that are tackling real-life problems in this region, and not just Singapore.” More
23 influential people in tech putting Singapore on the world mapQuest Ventures’ Managing Partner James Tan made the list of 23 “influential people” in the technology scene who are putting their marks on the world and making Singapore proud at the same time.
Quest Ventures has “invested heavily in many recognisable tech startups in Singapore, some you have already seen on this list (99.co, Carousell), as well as some others like Shopback, Carro…”
James “has steered Quest Ventures into becoming one of the leading VC firms in both China and Singapore, especially when investing in tech related startups.” More
人在旧金山，心系新加坡求索创投管理合伙人兼新加坡创业行动社群副主席陈中在美国硅谷举行的首届新加坡日上和新加坡副总理及嘉宾举行了新加坡创业行动社群硅谷分社的成立仪式，并在座谈会上以其他政府机构嘉宾发表讲话。
新加坡副总理兼国家安全统筹部长张志贤在节目里说：“我们很高兴 第一次把新加坡日带到美国西岸。我们也希望让新加坡跟充满活力的旧金山湾区建立关系，因为这里有很多的科技起步公司。”
在新加坡日上，副总理张志贤也为创业行动社群在硅谷所设立的分社举行成立仪式。创业行动社群是一个非牟利组织，通过提供拨款、协助成立联系网络等方式鼓励和推动新加坡起步公司的发展。
创业行动社群执行董事潘俊璁说：“创业行动社群硅谷分社之所以会产生，主要是因为我们向不少起步公司了解到他们处在朝新加坡以外地方拓展的阶段。当他们要在美国设立公司时，他们需要联系网，需要有人帮忙。我们意识到这是一个难题，我们需要已经在这里的新加坡人的帮忙，帮助其他国人来到美国硅谷创业。” More
To do an MBA or not, that is the questionQuest Ventures’ Managing Partner James Tan was mentioned in this article on the value of an MBA. Dave McClure of 500 Startups was quoted, while Grab founders and public officials were highlighted.
“In the public sector, notable examples include Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing, who was in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s 12-month Sloan Fellows programme, as well as Senior Minister of State for Defence Ong Ye Kung, who has an MBA from the Institute of Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Ms Grace Fu, the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, has an MBA from NUS.
For those interested in joining start-ups or looking for a partner to start one, business school seems like a good place to begin.
Other examples include Grab founders Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling, who met at Harvard Business School and came up with the idea that won them runner-up position in the school’s business plan contest, as well as Mr Roger Egan and Mr Vikram Rupani, who met at Insead and went on to start online grocery service RedMart.
Another success story is Mr James Tan, co-founder of China’s second-largest group buying site 55tuan, now called Wowo.
It listed on Nasdaq last year, raising about US$37.3 million. Mr Tan hit on his winning idea when he went to Tsinghua University in Beijing for a two-year MBA in 2008 and met his four co-founders.” More
As JFDI pivots to corporate sector, does the start-up scene need to do the same?Quest Ventures’ Managing Partner James Tan was interviewed for his opinion on the recent closure of the Joyful Frog Digital Incubator’s (JFDI) accelerator programme, one of the earliest accelerators in Southeast Asia.
James said that “accelerators provide a ‘soft landing ground’ for start-up founders, and those who fail to build their own start-up would have gained experience for their next venture” and that “through SG-Innovate, there will be more accelerators tackling different verticals.”
Alex Lin, head of Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd (IIPL); Ken Ng, CEO of insurer NTUC Income; and Lim Kuo-Yi, managing partner of Monk Hill’s Ventures also provided their opinions. More
ACE Silicon Valley Chapter to help Singapore tech start-ups tap into US networks and in-market expertiseIn conjunction with Singapore Day in San Francisco, California on 24 Sep 2016, the ACE Silicon Valley Chapter was launched by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, Mr Teo Chee Hean. With this initiative, ACE will be partnering with the Bay Area Tech Singaporeans (BATS) to help Singaporean tech start-ups tap on in-market expertise and networks in the US so as to provide access to the US market with greater ease.
As Deputy Chairman of ACE and responsible for driving internationalisation, Quest Ventures’ managing partner James Tan, with the chairpersons of BATS and SingaporeConnect, launched the chapter together with DPM Teo. More
Back to School – Views from Alibaba’s Jack Ma, Quest Ventures’ James Tan and others on Asia’s appetite for educationAs students head back to school after the summer break, CNBC Asia interviewed entrepreneurs and investors for their views on education.
Alibaba’s Jack Ma described the education landscape in China and what he wanted to do for education in the rural areas. He was followed by James Tan, managing partner at Quest Ventures. James described the EdTech landscape in Southeast Asia, the scale of the difference in investments between China and the US, and the opportunity to use technology to level the playing field for students in frontier markets who may not have access to good local education resources. More
Mobile classifieds startup Carousell makes first acquisition weeks after raising $35MWatch Over Me has been acquired by Carousell. As the first investor in both companies, Quest Ventures was actively involved in the exit and is delighted with the possibilities that this acquisition brings for both companies.
“Less than a month after raising $35 million in new financing, social commerce and classifieds startup Carousell has made its first acquisition. The Singapore-based company has picked up most of the team from Watch Over Me, a safety app for principally for women that is based in Malaysia, in an acquihire deal that beefs up its engineering chops.” More
Startup Weekend Singapore draws huge interest from aspiring entrepreneursQuest Ventures managing partner James Tan joins Vishal Harnal of 500 Startups, Arthur Brejon of Lazada Singapore, Rob Finlay of DBS Fintech incubator and Nicolas Chaussin of Aviva on the final day of the 2016 Startup Weekend Singapore to be part of the judging panel.
At his opening remarks, James highlighted the track record of Startup Weekend Singapore in discovering startups that have gone on to great heights, specifically Carousell (started as SnapSell by Startup Weekend participants) and VulcanPost (started by Startup Weekend organisers) that Quest had invested in. More
YT Start-Up Deal Tracker: The Fight For FundsEntrepreneurs should raise capital when it is available and not when it is required. “You want the confidence that you can run your business for the next 12 months at least. You’d be able to give that confidence to your employees… Make sure that you run the business frugally, have enough cash for the next 12 to 18 months, don’t wait till the last minute to raise the next round, in fact if the times are good and even if you have money, go and raise the next round”, says Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder & former CEO of Infosys, and now Partner at Axilor Ventures.
In this segment on funding, CNBC India also spoke with Shashank ND, Co-Founder & CEO of Practo; Girish Mathrubootham, Founder & CEO of Freshdesk; and James Tan, Managing Partner of Quest Ventures. More
Indian Startup Ecosystem Versus China – More Similarities Than DifferencesSneha Banerjee, Senior Correspondent at Entrepreneur India, interviews James Tan for a feature in one of India’s most well-read magazines.
“On the qualities the firm looks for in an entrepreneur, James said that he doesn’t particularly check whether an entrepreneur is a product or a business person because ultimately every founder has to have a team. “No one is an all-rounder. Even Jack Ma has a team behind him. We want to see whether the team members of a startup compliment each other and there must be a little bit of “healthy” competition between so that they drive each other along”, he added.“ More
Investors rush to fund China tech start-upsThe Straits Times interviewed two venture capitalists in China, GGV‘s Jenny Lee based in Shanghai and Quest Ventures’ James Tan based in Beijing, for their thoughts on the funding landscape in China, and the opportunities and risks that are present in this gold rush.
“According to research firm Preqin, private investors had poured around US$26.2 billion (S$35 billion) into 796 Chinese tech firms as of the middle of this month.
Beijing-based James Tan… find Chinese tech firms to be very good at localising new ideas from Silicon Valley and achieving superior results on the mainland.” More
Quest Ventures now a co-investment partner with Malaysia’s Cradle FundQuest Ventures inks co-investment partnership with Cradle Fund, an agency under Kementerian Kewangan Malaysia (Ministry of Finance), becoming a part of the MYR200 million (USD50.92 million) co-investment war chest for Malaysian tech startups. More
Dana Pelaburan Bersama Cradle Bernilai RM161.2 Juta Dengan 6 Lagi Rakan KongsiFirma dana modal teroka, Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd bekerjasama dengan enam lagi rakan pelaburan bersama untuk menyokong syarikat permulaan teknologi Malaysia, menjadikan dana pelaburan bersama kini bernilai RM161.2 juta berbanding RM159.2 juta dalam kumpulan kelimanya pada Februari.
Enam rakan kongsi baharu itu dan Quest Ventures — menjadikan Cradle Fund mempunyai 25 rakan pelaburan bersama ekuiti berbanding 19 pada masa ini. More
His startup survived 5,000 rivals in China to list on Nasdaq. Here’s what he learned.Managing partner James Tan was interviewed by Tech in Asia on execution and going public. James was the first Singaporean founder in the C-suite to list a Chinese tech company on NASDAQ. This came after several hurdles were crossed, including new Chinese regulations on ownership that affected all foreign-listed entities (eg, Baidu). Going public with about $1 billion in gross merchandise volume, 55tuan was the first O2O Chinese company to list, and the first tech IPO of a Chinese company on NASDAQ that year. More
Essential online shops for farm-to-table produceCafebond, a new e-commerce startup aims to bring the liveliness of the Australian coffee culture to specialty coffee lovers in Singapore. Their website started taking orders on June 1, and the startup already has plans to penetrate coffee markets in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong with the backing of Chinese investment giant Quest Ventures. More
Quest Ventures selects 2016 WIT Indonesia Start-Up of the YearAn “admittedly intimidating judging panel of industry experts, including Kei Shibata (Venture Republic), David Peller (Booking.com), Brett Henry (AngelVest) and Timothy Hughes (Agoda), Kusumo Martanto (GDP Venture), Steven Vanada (Cyber Agent Ventures), and James Tan (Quest Ventures)”, selected Deepdive as WIT Indonesia’s Start-Up of the Year after several rounds of pitching competition. More
走近投资人系列活动之七十：安芙兰创投暨走近投资人活动求索创投及安芙兰创投，长石资本，泽厚资本等创投机构联合主办走近投资人活动。#走近投资人#系列活动自2012年11月开展以来，活动城市包括北京、上海、深圳、成都、青岛、烟台等，截至2015年12月，累计200+名投资人（其中合伙人60+名）、120+家知名早期投资机构、2000+个经过筛选的优质早期创业者参加活动现场交流、参加活动的企业中已经有N(N>20)家顺利获得投资。 More
Quest for the BestIn this cover story, Quest Ventures Managing Partner, James Tan, tells The Edge Markets what he looks for in startups, why he enjoys kopitiam sessions and why he thinks you should drop out of school if you need to.
“Although small, it has an impressive track record… When selecting start-ups to invest in, Tan says he looks first for ideas that are both scalable and replicable. “We try to differentiate between scale and replication,” he says. “If you go from a $1 million business in Kuala Lumpur to a $10 million business, that’s scale. But to move from KL to Penang, and from Penang to Bangkok, that’s replication. That’s not scaling.” More
We’re Karl Mak & Xiao Ming, co-founders of SGAG. Ask us anything!Quest Ventures-backed SGAG joins Tech In Asia Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. Today SGAG’s content is consumed by over 3 million people weekly across our 6 content distribution platforms with the mission to make every Singaporean’s day a better one. Ask them anything! More
5 bootstrap alley startups that stole the show at Tech In Asia Singapore 2016Quest Ventures-backed Cafebond named “Most Decorated Booth” at Tech In Asia Singapore 2016, out of 200 aspiring startup booths that exhibited at the Boothstrap Alley. More
A Singaporean acquisition story you have never heardBefore Block 71, before heavy government support, AllDealsAsia was paving the way for startups in Singapore; and now it has been acquired. Co-founder Goh Yiping is a venture partner at Quest Ventures. More
Echelon Indonesia 2016Goh Yiping, founding member & CPO of MatahariMall.com and venture partner of Quest Ventures discusses best practices in product management for startups at Echelon 2016 in Jarkata. More
New app to track big players’ shares tradesBacked by Quest Ventures, Spiking, a home-grown app that gives investors up-to-the-minute information on share trades went live yesterday. Spiking allows investors to make better sense of spikes in stock prices by sending instant information to their phones on trades made by company directors and substantial shareholders. More
WIT Ajak Startup Founders Ikuti Startup Pitch CompetitionPenyelenggara mencari ide-ide terobosan dan menerima pengusaha yang pintar dan cerdas untuk ambil bagian. Ini adalah kesempatan bagi para startup founders untuk dilatih oleh para praktisi dunia digital dan mendapat spotlight pada Konferensi WIT Indonesia 2016. Adapun juri dari kompetisi ini antara lain James Tan (Managing Partner, Quest Ventures), Steven Vanada (Cyber Agent Ventures Indonesia), Kei Shibata (CEO, Venture Republic, Japan), Kusumo Martanto (COO, GDP Venture). More
ChinaBang Awards 2016Quest Ventures’ Associate Director, West China, Cheng Lei joins VC Meetup session at ChinaBang Awards in Chengdu, China. The annual ChinaBang Awards searches for the most promising and valuable startups in China with the aim of founding China’s innovation. More
Online Panel: Startup ecosystem in ChinaChina has always been on the radar scopes of many in the startup industry. Tech In Asia puts together a panel of experts to answer any questions you have about the ecosystem in China. This Online Panel lineup features: James Tan, Managing Partner of Quest Ventures, Rui Ma, and Junde Yu. More
Quest Ventures’ analyst joins Asia Beat 2016 as a judge at its startup battle. Asia Beat 2016 gathered over 3000 participants, around hundred Asian startup projects and representatives of numerous investment firms from China and around the world. More
Airbnb前總監蔡家驥，接任旋轉拍賣國際副總裁Carousell旋轉拍賣是現今東南亞成長最快速且最大的C2C行動拍賣平台之一，由500Startups、QuestVC等多创投的投资，今年3月任命Airbnb前東南亞區域總監蔡家驥為Carousell旋轉拍賣新任國際副總裁。More
当小贩也要终身学习创业行动社群董事成员之一的求索创投（QuestVC）管理合伙人陈中受访时指出，本地创业环境过去五年有了巨大变化。创业不再被视为一项遥不可及的梦想，就算创业失败也“不再是件丢脸的事”。More
社群經濟再進化 旋轉拍賣率先導入社群概念 推出全新社團功能Carousell為提供用戶更便利、更完整的服務，正式於iOS及Android雙系統同步推出「社團」功能。QuestVC等多家創投公司的投資，致力於建立最佳的社群電商平台，激發更多人開始參與社群拍賣。More
Top 10 Ask Me Anything Sessions in 2015.
Pingping Lin：ONOS——面向运营商网络的SDN操作系统Burpple digital food guide gets US$6m in fundingBurpple, a digital guide to restaurants and cafes in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur has received up to US$6 million (S$8.45 million) to expand into other Asian cities. Launched in 2012 by three Singaporeans, the company’s existing shareholders include Neoteny Labs, Silicon Straits, NUS Technologies Holdings and QuestVC. More
Online panel: Ask our panelist anything about IndonesiaGoh Yiping, co-founder and CEO of AllDealsAsia, venture partner of QuestVC, and CPO of MatahariMall.com, joins a panel that includes Ong Peng Tsin of Monk’s Hill Ventures and Teddy Himler of Softbank to discuss everyone’s favourite topic: Indonesia. More
“Winter is coming” – Chinese startups face market downturnJames Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, titled his talk ‘Winter is coming.’ He said 25% of Chinese startups were funded in just the past year and a half, growth that not only couldn’t continue but that would reverse amid China’s stock market sell-off… More
QuestVC analyzes China funding landscape at 8×8 forum organised by Chinaccelerator in Beijing. More
NUSRI-FLEX Global Business Plan Challenge Successfully ConcludesOrganised by the “China-Singapore (Suzhou) Innovation Center”, the NUS Research Institute – Flex Global Business Plan Challenge held its finals in Suzhou. Finalists tackled smart city issues such as pollution, water resources and IOT. The panel of judges was chaired by QuestVC managing partner James Tan and made up of representatives from the Suzhou government, venture capital firms and Flex. More
大唐电信移动互联孵化平台核心引擎 369Cloud“千人招募计划”正式开启求索创投合伙伙伴王赟明，天天投创始人崔鹏，市科委中小型创新基金评审专家司徒晓南，清华经管创业联盟理事会刘勇， IC咖啡创始人胡运旺，91金融创始人兼CEO许泽玮，IT桔子创始人兼CEO为飞翔等纷纷发言。More
I’m James Tan, Managing Partner at QuestVC. AMA!James Tan, Managing Partner of QuestVC, takes part in Tech In Asia Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. He took questions on his entrepreneurial journey, the startup and investment scene in China and living in China, generating more than 200 comments by the time the session concluded. More
Quick tips about entering China and Singapore if you’re a startupJerry Ku, partner at international law firm Gunderson Dettmer, and Chinese venture capital firm QuestVC managing partner James Tan attempted to paint a picture of setting up a business in China. It’s a tougher proposition than Singapore, but one that can be very rewarding due to sheer market size. More
Winners of the Global Mobile Challenge EmergeConcluding half a year of acceleration and competition in many countries in Europe, Middle East, the US, China and Asia-Pacific, regional finalists gathered at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, to compete in the grand finals of the Global Mobile Challenge. QuestVC managing partner James Tan participated as a jury member together with members of the board of the Applied Innovation Institute (non-profit organiser of the GMC).
Claco Music, Erdo, Jetbay win SEAMAC Mobile App Challenge 2014After months of grueling competition, Claco Music (Taiwan), Erdo (Taiwan) and Jetbay (China) emerged winners at the inaugural SEAMAC Asia Pacific Mobile App Challenge. More
After months of competition, three teams emerged victorious in the inaugural SEAMAC Asia Pacific Mobile App Challenge. The panel of 10 judges who selected the three winners from a field of 26 finalists included Jeffrey Paine, Founding Partner of Golden Gate Ventures; David Dacus, Founder & CEO of HitPlay; James Tan, Managing Partner of QuestVC… More
Travel News – eTravel World at ITB Berlin 2015 to be attended by over 50 exhibitors from 19 countriesJames Tan, Managing Partner of QuestVC, will talk about how foreign tour operators can share in China’s inbound travel market. China is also the focus of the topic of online marketing. More
5 reasons Indonesia should use China as an ecommerce blueprintManaging partner at QuestVC, James Tan discusses how Indonesia can learn from developed startup ecosystems overseas at the Startup Asia Jakarta 2014. More
Singapore’s Carousell raises $6M, gets Sequoia as new investor, squashes competitionCarousell has raised a series A round worth US$6 million led by prominent venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and investment will be used for expansion into Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan. Early investors include QuestVC and NUS Enterprise. More
StartupAsia Jakarta Highlights of Day 1At Startup Asia Jakarta, managing partner James Tan takes the stage with Rebright Partners and Silicon Valley Asia Technology Alliance.
James Tan said “China is unique but closed” in terms of language and the prohibitions put on the market. But the unique Chinese landscape still holds lessons for Indonesia in terms of localization, as seen with the local success of firms like Alibaba and Baidu. More
Should Indonesian founders be taking their cues from Silicon Valley? (#StartupAsia preview)Managing partner of QuestVC, James Tan, founder of the Silicon Valley Asia Technology Alliance, Sonita Lontoh and founding partner of Rebright Partners venture capital firm, Takeshi Ebihara, will take the stage to discuss the Indonesia tech ecosystem. More
QuestVC joins DBS BusinessClass’ panel of advisorsDBS launches programme to help start-ups and SMEs grow their business and network across Asia. Start-ups and SMEs can now seek business advice and opportunities across Asia with DBS BusinessClass.
Lim Chu Chong, Head of SME Banking, DBS Bank said, “… fast-growing SMEs need help connecting with investors and experts when they are scaling up their business… we hope to help SME owners build social capital and sharpen their competitive edge.” More
E-commerce en Chine : les spécificités de ce marché en fort développementEn Chine, le passage au numérique des secteurs traditionnels continue de manière implacable. Ce qui est hors ligne va passer en ligne. Ce n’est qu’une question de temps. More
Innovation in E-CommerceQuestVC participates in Ecommerce one to one, sharing the stage with Accel Partners to discuss international e-commerce trends. As the only representative from Asia at the event, managing partner James Tan described the fast-moving landscape in Asia and the challenges and opportunities available. More
Supersizing the start-upVenture capitalist James Tan believes local tech enterprises need to think big to thrive.
“It will take more than money to produce the next Google or Facebook, argued Mr Tan. Unwilling to break out of their comfort zone in Singapore, many start-ups fail to think big and move into large markets, such as China or the United States.
Mr Tan should know what he’s talking about… The firm has since expanded – organically and through acquisitions – to almost 4,000 staff across 150 cities.” More
求索创投管理合伙人陈中：为新加坡创业团队拓展中国铺路新加坡求索创投管理合伙人陈中不久前接受新华社记者专访时说，作为一名较早便在中国学习和工作的新加坡人，他愿继续为新加坡创业团队进军中国市场贡献自己的力量。More
Carousell has announced it is partnering with SPH Magazines to launch SheShops Marketplace. With the launch, readers will be able to shop for over 20,000 brand new or pre-loved items. More
Innovation and Entrepreneurial Policy, Asia PerspectiveDue to growth needs, pains, and challenges, China policy is fueling entrepreneurship at a massive scale and with intense competition. According to James Tan, GEL speaker and Managing Partner of QuestVC, Beijing is… More
These 5 Baidu Hackathon Finalists Make Your Life Greener and SimplerThe Singapore event had nine teams competing for the prizes, supported by local partners such as InfoQ, SegmentFault, QuestVC, and World Wildlife Federation (WWF). More
Encouraging entrepreneurshipQuestVC’s Managing Partner, James Tan, provided the following quote to The Business Times on encouraging entrepreneurship in Singapore.
“While there have been many new start-ups, our biggest weakness seems to be the inability of the businesses to scale up. Perhaps it is a general lack of global exposure – not perceiving how small the Singapore market is, not appreciating the vast potential of markets beyond our shores and a lack of understanding in how to enter these markets. We need to enable aspiring entrepreneurs to plan their business with scale in mind.
We should also give our youth more prolonged global exposure during student exchanges, study tours and overseas internship stints, and let them network with successful Singaporeans there.” More
这些潜在投资者包括QuestVC （求索创投）技术顾问、窝窝团合伙创建人之一潘国章。More
ETPL SDKs and Prizes for Baidu-QuestVC HackathonThe Baidu Open Cloud Hackathon is organised by the Baidu Developers Club and co-organised by QuestVC and SegmentFault. The event takes places in the key cities of Beijing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Taipei and Singapore. More
Kickstarters: China’s Innovation IncubatorsMentorship forms another cornerstone of the capabilities of China’s incubators. Chinaccelerator incubator has more than 60 mentors, among them James Tan, founder and Managing Director of the leading Chinese venture-capital firm QuestVC.
“Powerful mentors are rare in China,” says Josh Ong, tech-industry watcher for The Next Web site. “Guidance and insight to aid a start-up in overcoming challenges are some of the most important services an incubator can provide. It helps start-ups understand the value they can bring to the ecosystem.” Having world-class mentors onboard also boosts the incubator’s prestige, helping it to build its own products and brand, Ong adds. More
求索创投合伙伙伴，陈中，在中国加速10×10创业活动演讲。More
国内企业如何抢占移动互联海外市场――国家经济门户新加坡求索创投合伙人詹姆士·谭认为，东南亚移动互联网市场和中国有很多类似的地方，其中一点是同质化。More
Will Korea’s entrepreneurial engine continue to deliver? Innovation & entrepreneurial policy – Asia perspectiveDue to growth needs, pains, and challenges, China policy is fueling entrepreneurship at a massive scale and with intense competition. According to James Tan, GEL speaker and Managing Partner of QuestVC, Beijing’s Zhongguancun area next to Tsinghua, is the… More
求索创投：2013年看好四大领域本期“走近投资人”沙龙邀请到的是求索创投管理合伙人陈中。作为有着丰富投资经验的新加坡VC管理者，陈中直接了当介绍了今年的投资方向、投资流程及成功案例，紧接着各创业团队争相将自己的项目情况、业务模式做了进一步介绍，希望引起风投的兴趣。More
Food Discovery App Burpple Now Available On AndroidBacked by Quest Ventures, Burpple, the social discovery app that seeks to connect food lovers from around the world, just released their Android app in public beta. More
3 real startups (Frogo, Mashup and Kailoo), currently at a fundrasiing stage, and 3 real VCs (QuestVC, ZhenFund and Phillip Chow) helps out at SLP workshop. More
圆桌论坛二：下一阶段移动互联网创业趋势下午在网络点亮生活高峰论坛上，华视传媒VP朱华慈、新意互动移动互联网营销部总经理王甡、求索创投CEO陈中、31会议网CEO万涛、91无线高级市场总监郭云以及泰山兄弟&泰山天时创始合伙人陈亮一起就“互联网企业怎样转向移动互联网”、“下一阶段移动互联网创业趋势”发表了自己的观点。 . More
创业家俱乐部应邀出席北京青年创业工作联席会第三次会议求索创投、美特软件、新创思域等专业创业媒体、咨询机构和创业企业、创业青年的代表50余人参加了会议。More
Food Discovery App Burpple Adds Photo-Editing With Six FiltersFood journaling and discovery app Burpple has released its new Burpple Camera, which features six filters specifically designed to enhance photos of food and a tilt-shift blur effect. More
iSTART项目携饱贝食记、新旋律、LittleLives、人力才酷、门徒游戏以及思募等10余家年轻活力的初创企业登陆中国，求索创投的创始人陈中被选为[email protected]项目的导师之一，他同时也是窝窝团的联合创始人。More
James Tan, QuestVC’s Managing Director, judges at the IE Venture Day. More
搜狐IT：新加坡美食分享应用Burpple获50万美元融资据国外媒体报道，开发出同名iPhone美食分享应用的新加坡Burpple公司种子轮获得50万美元融资，本轮领投者为Neoteny Labs，参与者为中国的求索创投（QuestVC）。More
Neoteny and QuestVC feeds Burpple US$500K in fundingSocial food diary, Burpple, receives US$500,000 in funding, led by Neoteny Labs together with QuestVC. Burpple, the social food diary app, today announced their latest funding leg by Neoteny Labs together with QuestVC to the tune of US$500,000… More
SA startup wins top honours at pan-European eventJames Tan, from QuestVC in China, one of the jury members, added: “Waytag is a brilliant yet simple solution to improve how people interact and navigate on smartphones, it is much easier to use a unique one word address to find someone than a 5 line address… More
浸濡中华文化，全面体验中国社会风貌我们参访的公司都是不同领域的佼佼者，。。。开拓创意新领域的求索创投及创新工场，它让我更深入地认识中国的高科技创新市场。More
新加坡：给初创企业者送去“资本”和“智本” 中国经济导报我们在iSTART项目中提供的最重要的支持环节就是导师，我们选择的导师通常都是在目标市场有着非常丰富的经验以及关系网，例如我们iSTART项目在北京的导师之一—求索创投的陈中。。。More
首届2012新加坡创业行动社群北京蓝天大会举行ACE海外小组委员会兼ACE北京分会主席陈中先生在会上表示，新加坡创业社群的成立为新加坡初创公司提供了一个软着陆平台，增强他们的决策力和执行力，增加他们创业成功的机会。More
Studying in China helpful for businessVeteran Straits Times reporter Grace Chng interviews James Tan. “To take on the giant Chinese market, it might be best for a Singaporean entrepreneur to start as a student. That is the advice of Mr James Tan, 37, co-founder of China’s second largest group-buying site, 55tuan. Today, 55tuan.com has eight-figure US revenue per month, with double-digit growth month-on-month… 55tuan.com sells a variety of things, such as beauty and travel products and clothes. It employs 3,900 workers and has expanded to 150 cities.”
新加坡初创企业集体入华：中国是创业重要市场CE海外小组委员会兼ACE北京分会主席陈中先生表示，新加坡创业社群的成立为新加坡初创公司提供了一个软着陆平台，增强他们的决策力和执行力，增加他们创业成功的机会。More
iSTART项目：狮城IDA助初创企业拓展中国市场iSTART项目导师之一、求索创投(QuestVC)创始人及管理合伙人陈中先生表示：“希望能够与年轻一辈的初创企业家们分享自己对市场的认知以及相关的创业经验，在为初创企业家们照亮前行道路的同时，也能促进中新两国在资讯通信产业方面更多元的合作和交融。” More
“资”本携手“智”本，狮城ICT初创企业来华谋求新机遇 – 公司本次iSTART项目的导师之一陈中先生这样评价。陈中在中国和新加坡有着10多年丰富的创业及管理经验，他是求索创投（QuestVC）的创始人及管理合伙人，同时也是窝窝团联合创始人。More
17Startup沙龙第9期盘点：本地生活服务如何“接地气”投资人观点：他们如何看待和选择本地生活服务企业。每次17Startup沙龙，我们都会邀请关注该细分领域的投资人一起参加，分享他们关于这个行业的看法，以及他们会从哪些方面来看待这个领域的创业公司，这次我们邀请了4位投资人，一起来看看：求索创投陈中：1）获取用户的能力；2）获取商户的能力；3）商业的设定和赚钱。More
New initiative by ACE Beijing Chapter to support China-bound entrepreneursJames Tan, managing partner at QuestVC, signed the agreement on behalf of ACE as his role in chairman for internationalization.
“Singapore’s Action Community for Entrepreneurship Overseas Chapter in Beijing (ACE Beijing Chapter) recently announced collaborations… to provide China-bound Singapore entrepreneurs greater access to opportunities in Beijing and China.
James Tan… signed Letters of Intent on 4th July with the Managing Director of HDC, Du Peng, and the Director President of Coway, Dr Tan Hongxin. Singapore’s Minister for Education Mr Heng Swee Keat was also present at the occasion as a Guest-of-Honour.
Alongside him was Singapore Minister of State for Trade and Industry and ACE Chairman, Teo Ser Luck. The signing ceremony was attended by representatives from ACE, Tsinghua University, HDC and Coway, as well as the China and Singapore business communities.” More
Singapore start-ups in Beijing get fresh government backing“ACE Beijing provides a ‘by Singaporeans, for Singaporeans’ softlanding platform where mentors and entrepreneurs can sharpen their ideas and execution, thus improving their chances of success. We hope to eventually replicate this model in other cities,” says Mr James Tan, Chairperson of the ACE Overseas Chapter sub-committee. More
Startup event in Spain draws interest from Silicon Valley and ChinaQuestVC managing partner James Tan joins Jeff Clavier of SoftTech VC and Ali Partovi, co-founder of iLike & LinkExchange and an angel investor in Dropbox; and other notable investors and entrepreneurs at the IE Venture Day held in Madrid, Spain. More
This week, we talked to James Tan from QuestVC, a venture capitalist firm based in China. QuestVC is China’s leading seed to angel fund for technology companies that have scalability and replicability in large internet communities. The founders… More
Coffee Chat with James Tan: A Singaporean Entrepreneur in ChinaWillis Wee spoke with James Tan, the co-Founder of 55tuan who we have written about before and managing partner at QuestVC. James discussed his own experiences going to China to do business there, and explained that while his experience there has been a… More
Our guest speaker, as well as a Jury member for the event will be Mr. James Tan, a well-known Angel investor based in Beijing and Singapore who will address the group on Startup Activity in China. More
世界500强企业“八桂行” 500强企业广西寻觅商机-广西新闻网来自北京的求索创投管理合伙人陈中告诉记者，“窝窝团”网站的一帮创始人，在发现团购网站的瓶颈之后，自己投资成立了求索创投。More
Co-founder of 55Tuan to discuss China and entrepreneurship at Startup Asia SingaporeWillis Wee: I’m a keen admirer of James Tan. Many of you guys in Singapore might not know him because he is making his fortune in the big pond, China. More